After visiting New York City soon after the Sept. 11 attacks, Karen Rose, a sophomore elementary education major, noticed a difference between the feeling there and in Chicago and DeKalb.

“Due to the tragedies in New York, the people there tend to heal slower than those here in Illinois and at the same time tend to unite as one,” Rose said.

Fear, anxiety, helplessness, depression and emotional instability may be affecting NIU students because of the tragedies of three weeks ago. Students who think they are affected may want to seek counseling or talk to someone.

Post-traumatic stress from the Sept. 11 attacks is worrying health officials and is believed to lead to further psychological problems, according to the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies’ (ISTSS) Web site.

Kathy Hotelling, director of the Counseling and Student Development Center, released a letter on the NIU Web site explaining the continuing healing process.

“As we continue in the days and weeks ahead, as our eyes move away from the TVs, the Internet and newspapers and as the routine settles in again, the recovery process has not stopped but changed form,” she said.

In the days following the tragic events, NIU held vigils, group and class discussions and forums to answer questions. The Counseling and Student Development Center also has psychological counseling, group therapy, crisis intervention and psychiatric evaluation available for those who may be showing signs of post-traumatic stress.

In the first few hours after the tragedy, TV stations repeatedly aired the crashes and the scenes of terrorism to the American public and the rest of the world.

Scenes like these can cause anyone who witnessed these events to have a “flashback, have difficulty concentrating, not feel close to loved ones and experience physical health problems,” according to ISTSS.